India’s vulnerability to climate change is well-known among scientists and to most members of the lay public. Climate modeling from the Ministry of Earth Sciences amongst other agencies display projections that serve to underline how susceptible it is to climate change risks. Whilst more regional projections can sometimes become less certain, the risks for the […]
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Natural disasters: How much do they cost?
In an era of climate change driving extreme weather patterns, natural disasters seem to be becoming the norm. Indeed, recent months have seen the eyes of the world captivated by wildfires ravaging Australia – the country’s worst in decades. India is no stranger to environmental catastrophes and extreme weather patterns, witnessing calamities ranging from heatwaves […]
Child health: How climate change will affect it
“A child born today will experience a world that is more than four degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average, with climate change impacting human health from infancy and adolescence to adulthood and old age,” reads a report published yesterday by The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change – lending a chilling insight into the […]
Dengue fever outbreak fears in Bihar
Amidst fears of a dengue fever outbreak in Bihar state capital Patna, the state health department is readying itself. Waterlogged following a period of heavy rainfall, Patna has registered almost 250 dengue cases since September 27th – compared to 409 cases registered between January 1st and September 27th. Across the state, flooding has affected 1,400 […]
The monsoon season may officially be over – but rains continue to hit hard
India’s monsoon season officially ended on September 30th, but heavy rains continue to batter large portions of the country leaving death and destruction in their wake. Rainfall due to the extended monsoon season reached a 25-year high, with scores of people losing their lives. At the time of writing, heavy rains have killed 148 people […]
Rising sea levels: What they mean for India
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released another report warning of the dangers of our changing climate. This time, the body has warned that the trend of rising sea levels is ocurring faster than we first thought – news which carries significant implications for India. “The ocean is warmer, more acidic […]
Climate strike: Students protest across India
The youth climate strike hit India once more yesterday, with students missing school to protest for their future across Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi among other cities. “We know climate crisis is real, it’s a fact and not a myth or a belief,” 29-year-old Mumbai-based climate activist Pooja Domadi told CNN. “We’re having multiple events through […]
India must stop deforesting its mountains if it wants to fight floods
By Gayathri D Naik, SOAS, University of London Floods are now an annual nightmare in many parts of southern and western India. Valleys in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala that weren’t considered flood-prone until recently are at risk. During floods and landslides in August 2019, two villages were completely destroyed killing several people, […]
ART drugs and the toll of HIV in flood-ravaged Karnataka
Concerns in flood-ravaged Karnataka have been expressed for the state’s HIV-positive population and whether they can avail necessary medication such as ART drugs. Out of a HIV-positive population receiving treatment of 1.75 lakh, almost 67,000 reside in eight districts reeling under intensive floods. The provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatments has been ordered by the […]
Medicines for water-borne disease in flood-ravaged Thane
Maharashtra’s Thane district has been battling heavy rainfall in recent weeks, causing floods and leaving it vulnerable to the spread of water-borne disease. To guard against such infections, officials have been distributing medicines – an effort which has reached more than 60,000 people. The state has been beleaguered by intense flooding amidst heavy monsoon rainfall. […]